Hayfork

Here we all are! At the top of Hayfork Bally.  This year Zac and I weren't backpacking in Arizona so we were able to make it up to Hayfork to spend thanksgiving with his grandpa Gary.

We left very early on Wednesday morning. I was a little concerned about the trip because all the boys had decided to drive the trucks that they all built.  I was hoping that we would make it there! We were quite the sight rolling down the road in three custom built 1940's and 50's Dodge trucks. It wasn't the most comfortable road trip I've done but it was a fun adventure and we made it there! I think it ended up taking us about 5 and half hours to get there. We were driving pretty slow and made quite a few stops.  I was hoping that we would have a little snow for when we were hunting for our christmas trees….well my wish came true!

Once we arrived in Hayfork we stopped at grandpa Garys shop to say hi and show off the trucks.  Grandpa Gary loaded up in Nicks truck and we headed up the mountain to try and find our trees! At first we thought we would all be able to make it to the top but as we climbed up the mountain the snow started to deeper and deeper! Finally Steves CEO stopped and couldn't make it up the mountain ( two wheel drive). So we had to end up ditching the COE before the top and Steve and Cindy piled in Nick and our trucks. Luckily we weren't TO far from the top.  As soon as we were there grandpa Gary said we had 30 minutes before we needed to head back down the mountain! He was worried about the icey drive down…..we were there longer then 30 minutes! Nick and grandpa Gary walked right over to where they have stashed a tree from last year and boom, they were done! Unlike Zac and I who searched all over for the perfect tree! Let me tell you although the snow is beautiful and makes for lovely scenery it sure is hard to find a tree when its covered with snow!  For some odd reason I always choose a tree that seems to be in the most difficult place! I picked one that we had to drag all the way back up to the top but we managed.

We were all able to find our trees and take some cute pictures before we headed back down the mountain. We arrived at Steves truck and had to make a Dodge train to get him down.  It was fairly thick snow and with his truck being 2 wheel drive with no weight in the back we didn't want him to be sliding down the mountain. Zac drove in the front with a tow strap so that we could pull him down and Nick was in the back with a tow strap so he could keep the back of his truck from sliding around. 

We were cold and wet when we got back to grandpa Garys house and it felt so good to change into warm dry clothes and enjoy a glass of wine.  We deserved it! We had a early morning and a long day so bed was just what we needed!

The next morning we were up and it was Thanksgiving day! Cindy had pre-made most of the food and Karen already had the turkey in the oven.  Zac wanted to head down to the shop to pick up some things and boy did we. It was like a gold mine for him! He kept walking around saying he needed this and needed that! Finally he started to slow down. I happened to find a few things for myself as well! Grandpa Gary had this cute little turquoise vintage heater and crab pots! I have been telling Zac I wanted to try crabbing this year so I was very excited to see all those pots sitting there. We were going to have Thanksgiving lunch at about 1:00 so we needed to head back to the house to help and enjoy.  

Thanksgiving lunch was delicious! I can't believe it came and left so quickly. Before we knew it we were all stuffed! Zacs dad wasn't feeling very well so he was going to take a nap while the rest of us decided to head up to the Kelly Mine.  Grandpa Gary used to work in the mines and he wanted to take us there to show us.  Luckily the drive wasn't as long as up to the Hayfork Bally and there was barely any snow.

I was a little surprised to see such a tiny hole in the mountain to get into the mine, I pictured a mine cave how I see them in the movies! Before I knew it grandpa Gary was down on his knees crawling through the hole! Then Zac went in and finally Nick.  I went back to let Cindy know what was going on and had no plan on going into the mine but then I started thinking why wouldn't I go!? So down into the mine I went! I found the boys maybe 40-50 feet down into the tunnel.  I took a look around got a few pictures and then headed back out to let Cindy know what was going on.  Cindy was asking me a few questions about the mine and before I knew it she was crawling in behind me to check things out! 

Once we were done exploring we headed back to the house to take it easy.  We spent the rest of the evening just chatting and enjoying each others company.  We planned on leaving in the morning. It was such a quick trip but it was so much fun! We didn't end up bringing Hudson which I am glad we didn't. Although he would of LOVED the snow with the weiner dogs and Dozer running around it would of been to much!

The next morning we were up and ready to head back to Sonoma County. We didn't want to leave to late because it was forecasted to snow on the way home and the last time it was snowing on the way home the COE got stuck and we had to tow it out! So we were hoping that would not have to be the case! It was the perfect trip and I was happy that everyone made it safely there and safely home!

Anniversary number 7

Not a bad view if you ask me! This is how Zac and I spent our 7th anniversary. And it was one for the books! We had the best time ever. It all started with one of my crazy ideas. So way back in April my dad was up for my birthday party and he had just purchased a dual sport motorcycle. Well that got me to thinking, that looks like fun! I have been into motorcycles for quite some time but it definitely re-sparked my interest. Then a few months later my friend Reza bought a dual sport! They were all around me. So for my crazy idea I thought, wouldn't it be fun to go ride!?

We were able to borrow the KTM from Zacs dad and for me we borrowed a bike from Randy. When I was growing up it was uncle Randy, one of my dads very best friends! They had done some riding together and he mentioned that if I ever wanted to borrow his TTR125 I could. Well I thought this might be the perfect time to take advantage of the offer, so I did.

Our trip was all weather dependent because I did not want to be riding in the pouring rain and I know Washington is known for its rainy weather. Our plan was to drive up Saturday and pick up the bike then head over to our campsite at Panther Creek. Sunday would be a solid day of riding, Monday possibly a little riding and then a drive down to Oregon to stay in a hotel and lessen the drive a bit for Tuesday. 

So Im going to skip the long drive and talk about our first day. We woke up fairly early and cooked an interesting breakfast, lets just say we forgot a few key ingredients (so unlike us) but that was okay because I was a little nervous and I have a hard time eating when I feel nervous. My nerves were kicking in because I had this bike in front of me and I started thinking….you've never ridden a dirt bike before….you did have a street bike but its been probably 5 years since you've ridden one….what if you don't remember?…..what if you get hurt!? My mind started going crazy. We started to pack up all our gear and our lunch for on the road and it was time to hit the road. I straddled my bike and looked at Zac…he said "1 down and 4 up", and off we went! You know that saying, its like riding a bike? Well it was. It all came back to me. And it felt GOOD!

My dear sweet husband thought it would be a good idea to stop here and take a picture! I think this sums things up very nicely. Pavement Ends….and it sure did! After that last little stretch of asphalt you see behind us we had nothing but dirt!  I can't tell you how good it felt to be outside tearing it up on the mountains.  I started off a little slow getting used to the feeling of a dirt bike but I think in no time I was feeling pretty comfortable. Im thankful my husband was willing to go at my speed because I know he could get going a lot faster then me. True love.

Most of this post will be pictures but Ill give as many details as I can. So off we started on the first section of the WABDR ( Washington Back Country Discovery Route) our plan for the day was to find the Guler Ice Cave and check that out. 

The picture to the left was our first view with some elevation. The first part of the ride was just heading up, up, up.  The picture really doesn't do it justice. The greenery, the beauty and the quietness of being up on that mountain was just perfect. Zac and I both agreed that this was our favorite anniversary trip out of all of them.

We did not have GPS on this trip. We went at things old school. A paper map. We were lucky enough to have Randy give us a map to borrow when we picked his bike up and that came in super handy. 

The next photo that you see was another scenic photo stop that we had to take. We just could not have asked for better weather on this trip. It had rained a few days before we arrived which worked out very nicely for us because it kept the dust down on the road. There were still a few puddles and I think I only hit one of them. One section of the WABDR had quite a few pot holes that made it interesting for dodging them. I didn't want to hit one of them to hard and launch myself! You have to be so aware when you are riding a motorcycle and even more so on a dirt trail. If you let your mind wonder or look ay anything else for a second you could end up hitting an area or a corner faster then you'd like.

We made it! Here is Zac and I in front of the Guler Ice Cave! We stopped here for a quick break and to enjoy a nice little picnic lunch. We sat down at a table and enjoyed our lunch and I was thinking I can't believe we have this whole place to ourselves! Then before I knew it a group of motorcycles pulled up to check out the cave. They were there MAYBE 10 minutes before they geared back up and took off and we were alone once again. Once we finished up lunch we headed down to check out the cave. Now this cave is suppose to have ice in it year round and Im sure if we would of headed in a little deeper we would of seen it but….it was so cold down there! I didn't want to stay in there to long even with my long sleeve, sweatshirt and jacket!

So once we were done there we thought it might be fun to check out the natural bridges. I guess the natural bridges were made from lava, and they are just that….natural bridge. So we hopped on the bikes an motored off to our next destination. It was a quick ride. This time of year some of the leaves are starting to change colors and when we went to the natural bridges we were able to see it in all its glory!

No filter needed here!

There you can see me pointing to the bridge behind us.

Before we knew it we were on the road again! Our next stop on our loop was Goose Lake. It was so beautiful. There were a few campsites there and some people taking their small boats off the lake so Im assuming there was some fishing going on. I wanted to bring our rods on this trip but we didn't end up doing it. I think it was for the best though, because we were pretty busy! Sorry for the helmet pictures. It a lot of work taking everything off and on so we have quite a few pictures with the helmets on.

We were thinking about stopping at a waterfall on the way back to camp but instead since our day was coming to an end we thought we would stop in the city of Carson and get some dinner and a drink at the Backwoods Brewery. Although I think starting off on the smaller bike for my first time was a good choice I would never want a bike that small. I had a really hard time keeping up with Zac when we got on the main road! I was 5th gear pinned to try and keep up. Im still very thankful that I had a free bike to ride though! I also learned a lot. Im not very good at kick starting a bike but I do know how to bump start a bike! When I could not get it started Zac taught me that I get the bike to roll down hill with the clutch in I can kick it into 2nd gear and get it to start and boom! Off I went.

We finally got back to camp and cracked open a bottle of wine and got a huge fire going! It was a perfect end to a perfect day! We were pretty tired and ended up going to bed fairly early.  The next morning we woke up and had plans to do some more riding but we were both feeling the ride from the previous day.  We ended up logging about 80 miles and probably 90% of that on dirt. Because of our lack of ingredients for a good breakfast we packed up camp and headed to get some food! We had to leave the campsite anyways because it was closing for the season. Once we finished breakfast I was telling Zac about these waterfalls in Oregon I would LOVE to see. He was down for the adventure so we popped across the Bridge of the Gods over to Oregon and found us some waterfalls!

HorseTail Falls at 176 feet

And Multnomah Falls at 620 feet!

There are many more in the area but we wanted to go check out the dam and fish hatchery. They have a 70 year old Sturgeon named Herman who is 10 feet long! And since we love fishing this is something we HAD to see!

The fish hatchery was just beautiful! It was so much fun to see all the fish and BIG ones! Made me really wish that I had my rod. Zac and I also stopped at the giftshop and got italian cream sodas, they were SO good! It was another perfect day and it was the only the beginning. After we were done at the dam it was back over to Randys house to drop off the bike and then a drive down to Eugene Oregon to have a nice relaxing dinner on the river!

Hubby and I in front of the Bonneville Dam

Some big Rainbow Trout

What a gorgeous place to explore!

Me, Zac and Herman!

We arrived in Eugene around 5:00, check into our hotel and took a shower! The hotel upgraded us to a sweet. So not only did we have a river view but we had a really large room as well! It was awesome! Once we were showered and and cleaned up we headed down to the restaurant at our hotel that was right on the river. It was a warm night and we sat out on the deck and enjoy our dinner. The food was delicious! Needless to say after the last few days we were pooped! And the next day it was already time to drive back home. Best trip ever!

A day together

So the hubby finally came home! Although he was sick so that was a bummer. I was off to work while he stayed home and tried to feel better. We did get ONE day together though! Yesterday. It had been two weeks since we had had a day off so I was happy.

So we decided on our day off together we would go to breakfast and then do a little wine tasting. We stopped by Steve and Cindys to borrow their cruiser bikes. Although we have quite a few bikes we actually do not own cruiser bikes. There is one that I have wanted for YEARS but they don't make it anymore and I have not found one that I like better. So it hasn't been a top priority. But maybe one day we will get some. So after we picked up the bikes we headed out to our winery destination…Zac had wanted to try someplace new here in Santa Rosa so we headed out toward Olivet Rd. We didn't have a set plan on what wineries we wanted to go to but we thought if we saw one that we liked then we would just stop. 


I can't remember the name of the first place we stopped but I know we had been there a long time ago with my friend Dana. The view was gorgeous but the wine wasn't the best. I don't think of myself as a wine snob but I just didn't find it that good.  From that winery I was able to spy another winery that I wanted to try called La Crema, their wine is pretty well know here in Sonoma County and they have a tasting room in Healdsburg.  We found out they had JUST opened this new tasting room a few weeks ago and we were the first people to ride bikes there. The tasting was done in house that was originally owned by the Kunde family ( the winery that we are members at) they passed away and La Crema had purchased the property. Lucky them, its gorgeous!

When we walked in they started us with a glass of Rose and then we head out to one of their decks to enjoy a flight of pinot! The weather could no be more perfect! We sat out on the deck enjoying our wine and the beautiful view. I think I will definitely go back. Once we were done it was time to ride back to the truck! I think we might of ended up riding about 5 miles. It felt good to just be outside.

Zac is back to work today and I am having a VERY lazy Sunday.  I was able to go out this morning and finish getting the birthday gifts for my friend Rebecca. I like to try and make gifts a little more personable if I can. Its so easy to order something online or get a gift card but I usually enjoy picking gifts out and wrapping them and making it special. Her birthday is tomorrow and she wants to go on a hike and do lunch so that is what we are going to do! We will be doing the same hike that I did last weekend so hopefully its not AS hot! Things are going to get very busy with the next few weeks. Hopefully I can keep up with my blogging! Until then!

Its that time of year again

Fire season is here. Zac has been sent out on yet another strike team. I say strike team but really here is there as a medic so its not really a team…..its just him. He had a 96 hour shift and the day he was suppose to head back home they called about the Chimney fire in Coalinga and way he went. This is his fifth day on the fire and it is pretty well contained so he is suppose to be demob'ed tomorrow. However demob'ed means only that he is cleared or released from the fire he is at and could get sent to another one. Lake county is on fire again. That poor town cannot catch a break! They had the worst fire (I think ever in CA) last year. And almost a month shy of a year it is happening again. So same old same old I could see him tomorrow or I might not. You just don't know until you know! 

I have been keeping busy while he is away. Yesterday I was able to go on a hike with Jen. Her boyfriend is at the same fire department Zac is at so we have a lot in common. It was nice to get outside and enjoy the beautiful weather, although it was pretty hot! We ended up taking her two puppies on the hike with us and then afterword we headed to Kunde so that I could pick up my shipment. They are a very dog friendly winery so that is nice. We sat outside in the shade and while the pups relaxed we enjoyed a nice glass of cold white wine. Not a bad way to end a long hike!

I was also able to FaceTime with my best friend janelle the other evening. It is always nice to catch up with her. I am thankful that we have both put in the effort to keep in touch even though we live far away. Its a hard thing to do. I must say that I have really been making an effort lately to keep in contact with family and friends even though life gets really busy. Most of them reciprocate but I have to be honest there are some where you give, give give and don't get anything in return and it kinda gets old. You start to think if they really wanted to be involved in your life they would make more of an effort. Oh well, at least I can say I tried.

Anyways sorry for the rant. I was going to blog last weekend but my laptop was in Zacs truck and obvisouly he is away at the moment so I could not get it. But thanks to my little hike yesterday Jen was able to bring it to me! So I thought today I could catch up on some of my posts. I wanted to talk about our camping trip to Bucks Lake before I forget about it! So here we go.

So every year around June my doctor takes some time off to travel with his family. Zac and I took this opportunity to plan a camping trip. We decided we would go to Bucks Lake because we had been there a few times before, its not to far of a drive  and its a beautiful little lake. We were there the week before 4th of July so I was a little worried about finding a campsite because it is first come first serve! Luckily we drove up on a Sunday and I feel like most people are heading home on Sundays so we were able to find a beautiful spot right in front of the lake!

Zac and I had never seen the lake this full before! Usually you have a little trek down to the water but it was literally right at our site! Huddy enjoyed it and was quick to take a swim! We were there in the late afternoon so we had time to set up camp in the day light, walk around a bit and then get set up for dinner! We decide that the following morning we would head over to the marina to rent a little fishing boat. We thought it would be nice to take Huddy somewhere where he would run and swim free. Also we thought we would test out some fishing. 

The next morning arrived and we cooked ourselves a delicious breakfast before driving over to the marina. I think the boat rental was about $75 for the day. They are pretty crappy little boats, nothing fancy. But we just wanted to get across the lake. It sure made us miss not having our little boat! We will definitely need to get another one. It was warm out so we motored across the lake and let Huddy out so he could run and swim, he loved it! The bugs did seem bad this year, I could not seem to get away from them. At one point I stayed on the beach with Huds and Zac went out in the boat to do a little fishing. 

No luck catching anything, for the whole time we were there! We later found out when we were at the bar that no one was really catching anything and it had been a bad year. All the locals and old fishing men hang out at the bar every night so we got the scoop. Also one of our camp neighbors was out for 7 hours on his boat and caught ONE fish….one. He said he has never had it this bad and he comes up to Bucks all the time. So we didn't feel to bad. Plus we weren't up there tot fish specifically, we leave that to the ocean! Once Zac was back to land with the boat I pointed out a crawdad! And from then on it was hunting time! I can't tell you how many crawdads we caught and actually had a lot of fun doing it! So if the fish weren't biting with a big crawdad on the end of the hook who knows what they want!

At around lunch time we took the boat back to camp to eat some lunch. After we ate we realized how tired we were from being out in the sun all morning, Hudson was pooped as well! So Zac and Huddy napped while I read my book. We had to retreat to the tent because the bugs were bad! So annoying. After relaxing it was time to head back to the boat. We tried a little more fishing out in the lake while Hudson slept. It was a little hot for him but the bottom of the aluminum boat was nice and cool and he was SO tired from running and swimming all morning. As the day started to come to an end we thought we would drop the boat off and get a drink and thats just what we did.

When we got back to camp Hudson was so tired! He got into his hole he had dug and went to sleep. We made dinner and then headed down to the damn to try a little more fishing, see if we could get an evening bite. 

Hudson and I had a nice little walk while Zac did his fishing. I tired to get him to look at the camera but it didn't work out very well! Before we knew it, it was time for a camp fire and head to bed. A successful first full day on the lake.

The next morning we got up and made breakfast. We thought about doing a little exploring and maybe finding someplace new to go to. After looking at the map we thought it might be best to go look at Lower Bucks Lake. We drive by it every time we visit but we had never been before. We loaded up a few things including the dog and we were off! Once we drove around one side of the lake we noticed a nice little beach on the opposite side and it looked like there were no people there. So we thought we would test that out and try and spend the day at the lake! We forgot our floaties so we stopped by camp and grabbed them before heading over to the opposite side of the lake. There was a whole "camp" there with a ton of people but we were able to drive away from all the people and find the perfect beach closer to the damn side.

We parked the truck and let Hudson free! We found a nice little spot to keep all of our things and then it was relaxing time! We grabbed our floaties and headed into the water. It was definitely chilly but luckily our tubes only allowed a small portion of our bodies to actually be IN the water. Hudson didn't seem to mind he was in and out of the water ALL day! He would run around the woods and we wouldn't see him for a few minutes then he would come crashing through the brush to check in and get a little swim.

It was the perfect day! We brought a bunch of snacks and pretty much spent the whole day just lounging around. We knew Huddy was getting tired when he just sat at the beach and stared at us in our tubes! Finally we had enough fun in the sun and we thought we would head back to camp. Zac thought it might be fun to do dinner at the restaurant. We got back to camp, changed and headed over to get some food. Hudson was so tired he slept in the back of the truck while we ate dinner. The weather was perfect! We sat outside and enjoyed the beautiful view while we ate our dinner.

  
And just like that our trip was over! But it sure was a lot of fun! We have some time off the end of August and we are trying to decided what we are going to be doing and then before you know it our anniversary will be here in September! I have a few crazy ideas up my sleeve (as usual) so we will see what we end up doing. 

Well I really need to get out of bed and get started with my day. Its back to work tomorrow! Hope y'all had a good weekend!

Tahoe

One of the many reasons I love my job so much is because I was able to meet these ladies. They have become some of my closest and dearest friends. If everything happens for a reason then I was meant to find this job just so that these good hearted people could be placed into my life.

Not only do we get to see each other almost every day but when enjoy getting together outside of work. I am sure some of you have seen some of my previous posts with us going on hikes and wine tasting together. As the year seemed to flash by it seemed like it was harder and harder for us to all get together, one of us was always busy. Well I had enough of that and being the planner that I am I happened to be looking on Groupon and I found a hotel deal in Tahoe! Right away I texted my girls to see if they would be able to do this trip and before I knew it everyone was free and we had booked our trip! I probably ended up booking it at least two months in advance (because like I said, we are busy ladies).

Its always a little nerve wracking booking a Groupon hotel on line because lets be honest, picture can make places look amazing! And then when you get there you can be very disappointed. With that in the back of my head, Sunday July 17 was already here and it was time to leave on our little over night trip. My dear friend Jen is about 7 month pregnant so I was worried that this trip might be a little much for her but she is such a trooper and did amazing! This trip needed to happened because it was most the last get together before baby Jackson came in September! We decided we would leave Santa Rosa around 7:00 so that we would hopefully get into Tahoe around 11:00. Jen had offered to drive us in her Range Rover and with her driving there was no doubt that we would be there by 10:30! Part of the trip was just the drive over to Tahoe. Stephanie (the youngest of our group) had recently quick her job at our office to persue more schooling so it was nice to catch up with her now that I wasn't spending every day with her.  We were all able to catch up, girl talk and listen to some music that really brought us back!

We weren't able to check into our hotel until 4:00 but that was okay because we planned on hanging out at the lake most of the day. The hotel that I booked happened to give us beach passes for a private beach so right when we got into town we stopped by to get our passes and check out the hotel. I must say I was VERY pleasantly surprised! It was very cute! It was called Base Camp hotel and the best way to describe it was camping/industrial/hip. All the rooms had a camping theme. The lobby had an old wood farm table, large leather couches and industrial lighting everywhere. When you walked outside they had a courtyard with an old airsteam trailer. In front of the trailer there was someone playing live music. There were picnic tables, fire pits (they gave you all the items to make s'mores) and even a beer garden! The picture above is from one of the roof top decks that they have as well. It was perfect for our over night get away. I would have to say the only down fall is that it is an older hotel and they do not have any AC, so beware on hot summer nights!

Anyways back to the beach. We were hoping to rent some lounge chairs at the beach but when we arrived they said it was to windy (which it was pretty windy) so the guy that rented the chairs was not there today. Well that sucked, but luckily we had a few towels with us. We were also able to bring a little cooler with us so we had yummy snacks to eat! We hung out at the beach for a few hours before we thought we would head back to our hotel to try and check in early. Another nice thing about the hotel is that it had a great location. It was walking distance to the heavenly shopping center, restaurants, the casino and the lake! When we got back our room was not ready yet so we went to check out the beer garden and then headed up to one of the roof top decks to enjoy the view!

Before we knew it, it was time to check in to our room. Again once we walked in I was pleasantly surprised. Very cute theme and everything seemed to be nice and clean! Our plan was to shower, get ready and walk over to the heavenly shopping center. We were all pretty hungry and ready to eat. I had done a little research and found a place called Fire and Ice where you pick out what you want to eat and then they cook it up for you, it seemed like it would be fun and a good atmosphere. Rebecca had been there before and agreed with me so we were set on where to eat for the night.  

The restaurant was about a 6 minute walk from our hotel which was nice because who wants to worry about parking. I enjoyed the food at Fire and Ice and it was nice to sit outside and enjoy the view however I do think it was WAY overpriced. It is $25.00 per person for all you can eat….which is you ate a lot it might be worth it but for me? No. The food was good though so it had that going for it.  Once we were finished eating we decide to walk around and do a little shopping. While we were walking around some of the girls spotted someone eating these mini donuts. They had to have them. We found the place that was selling them but they were already closed. Luckily my friend Jen used her growing baby bump to score us some free donuts…."The baby wants some"! And three plates of donuts later we were sitting enjoying them on a bench. I don't think I have laughed that hard in a long time sitting there eating those donuts with my friends.

So much fun. We were so full and pretty tired from our early morning. We decided that it was time to head back to the hotel and take it easy for the rest of the night.  We planned on this being a very chill and relaxing trip and thats just what it was!

The next morning came quickly and our hotel had a continental breakfast which happened to be waffles! Yum! So we filled up on waffles before our 4 hour ( 3 1/2 with Jen driving) drive home. So glad that we could all finally get together and can't wait until our next trip! Love you girls. 

Ups and Downs

What a week. It started off pretty good and then kind of went down hill. So lets start at the beginning. So Monday my dear sweet husband took me out on the ocean to do some fishing. My last trip was NOT a good one. The weather was a little wild and so was the ocean! Plus we didn't catch anything so it wasn't my best trip out. After being off the ocean for a year and then traveling 18 miles to catch no fish….no good.  So then when he mentioned he wanted to take me out again I had my hesitation but I just enjoy fishing so much that I put my fears aside and it was time to get back out there! Plus we didn't have to wake up super early which is always a plus! So we probably didn't get out to the fishing "grounds" till about 9:30.  The ocean was MUCH more behaved then the last time I went out. So we waited…..and waited…..and waited….until finally, hours later we got our first bite! My sweet hubby let me reel in all the fish! We probably caught our 3 fish within 40 minutes with a double hook up! We stayed out longer to get the devil fish (last fish for limits) but had no such luck so it was time to head back to the dock.

Felt so good to get back out there and feel the tug! Excited to get back out there and do it all again! 

So once I got home and all the fish were cleaned and put away I got a very sad phone call from my friend Dana. She was on instgram and found out that one of my high school/college friends was in a car accident and died. When she told me it didn't really hit but its been a pretty rough week with having that in the back of my head while trying to concentrate at work. Luckily work has been crazy busy this week, we are short staffed and you can feel it!

When I got off work today I had a text message from Dana and she told me that they were streaming his funeral device on Facebook. I had mixed emotions but I went ahead and signed on to the old Facebook account I had got rid of years ago and started watching….its weird to be crying and laughing at the same time.  I can't believe he is gone, even though I had not seen him in probably a decade and talked to him in 4 years it didn't matter. Its sad to think he is gone forever but all my memories with him are great ones! I remember being at his house with his parents and sister and my friend Dana and his parents really wanted us to get married! They were such a great family, all of them. My heart breaks for them during this time and I hope that God can ease their pain. 

Needless to say it has been an interesting start to my weekend. But I am thankful that the hubby will be home tomorrow morning and he can distract me. Im not sure what we will be doing but as long as Im with him I know it will be a good time.

I really need to catch up on everything that has been going on. I get so busy but I know that if I don't blog that I am going to regret it. I love being able to look at the years past and see what I was doing. Lets see Ill have to blog about:
-Tracor Pulls/Kunde
-Bucks Lake
-4th of July
-Tahoe
-Kunde hike

Ugh, feels overwhelming but maybe I can do it one day at a time. It might be in order but I'll go ahead and get the Kunde hike out of the way! 

So this whole being a member at a winery is really paying off! I kept thinking that I would NEVER waste my money on being a member but I absolutely love our winery! There are so many perks! The latest perk that I wanted to try was the Kunde wine hike. A couple times a year they get a group of members/non-members together and take a hike around the grounds while tasting wine! I love wine and hiking so I was pumped! Sunday morning arrived and Zac and I were at Kunde just a little before 9:00. We signed in and they gave us our plastic tasting glass to hike with. Just a little after 9:00 everyone was gathered outside with our "hiking guide" and we were off! We happened to be hiking on a fairly hot day so it wasn't long before it felt really warm out! We ended up hiking about 5 miles so a pretty good little hike. It was not strenuous at all but the heat made it a little more difficult.  Luckily we got to stop in the shade every once in awhile and enjoy so wine and hear all about the winery! It was a lot of fun! At the end of the hike we sat outside and did a little tasting and enjoyed some food. A lot of people bring their own picnic food and ice chests but Nellies Oysters was there so Zac and I both ordered some delcisous tacos with home made tortillas! Yum! We met a couple from Texas and just sat, drank wine and got to know them! It was a great way to spend our Sunday morning. After the winery we headed home to shower, change and head over to the Fleckners to celebrate Steves birthday.

Thats all I have in me for tonight! Hope you all have a wonderful weekend and stay tuned for new posts! Until next time.

One week and counting

Okay, so we are one week down and who knows how many more days. A week ago my sweet husband got called out to a fire at Happy Camp (ironic I know).  I was hoping with the little bit of rain that we got they would send him right home, but that is not the case.  This last friday was my last day at work and I am officially on my summer vacation. I only wish that my hubby was home to enjoy it with me so here is hoping that they send him home soon!

I have been trying to keep busy this last week so I thought I would update you all on what I have been up to. But first I am going to rewind to the Thursday before Zac left because I got to do something that is SO much fun, wedding dress shopping! Not for me of course but for my soon to be sister Becca! I feel so honored that she asked me to be a bridesmaid. Not to get all mushy on you but I feel like Becca and I are in such a good place right now and to be honest that wasn't always the case. Our relationship has had a few ups and downs in the last few years but I truly feel like we have both worked on things and are getting really close again which makes me feel really good! When she was first introduced to me (at my rehearsal dinner) I was super excited to have another girl join the family! Now I get to be a part of her wedding and share in such a wonderful experience.  Im excited for the future and to get closer to my new sister.

Anyways, leaving the mushy stuff and back to what I was talking about. So she invited me with a few other bridesmaids, her mom and Cindy to go wedding dress shopping.  Of course I was very excited to do that, I love that stuff. So I requested off a day of work and got to spend the entire day watching her try on beautiful gowns! Its a difficult thing helping a bride choose her dress….everyone has different tastes, different opions, different ideas in their head but all that really matters is the bride likes her dress.  I must say after 3 different places and multiple dresses she finally found "the one" and she looks gorgeous! I think the dress suits her perfectly and I can't wait to see the final product. 

So now we will move on to the weekend. So Zac had to work Saturday and would get off on Sunday.  Sunday I had plans to meet my mom in SolBar.  She was in town (Napa) visiting her best friend and while she was in the area she wanted to see me! So we met in Calistoga and had an amazing brunch at SolBar. The weather was perfect. We just sat outside and enjoyed the amazing food and weather.  Earlier that morning Zac was suppose to come home, however I got a text from him telling me that he was being sent out on a fire. Yay. Its never a good time when he leaves but if he had to go we didn't have anything planned so it kinda worked out for him to be gone.  

So after I enjoyed brunch with my mom and her bestie I headed back over the hill to Santa Rosa and met up with my friend Courtney so that I could check in on her and see her new baby boy Deacon. He is only a little over a month old and I was excited to meet him! I also was able to see the plans for her new home that her and Denver are building.  Its going to be beautiful.

So now we will fast forward to this weekend.  Zac is still not home and I have been trying to stay busy.  Sometimes I do okay when Im by myself but being alone for a week gets old pretty quickly, Im ready for him to be back home.  Saturday I had an appointed in Calistoga and then was able to meet up with my friend Lorena for lunch. Sunday was fathers day so I headed over to Steve and Cindys to celebrate with them.  My dad was backpacking. He did come home a day early so I was able to facetime with him.  That brings us to today, Monday. Zac is still up at the fire. It has been pretty warm here, I wanted to take Hudson on a walk but with this heat we had to get started fairly early.  We headed over to Spring Lake and it was beautiful! It was so refreshing to just be outside and enjoy the gorgeous day! It was warming up by the time Huddy and I got home so I dropped him off and headed out to run some errands.

So now that Im on vacation lets hope my hubby comes back home so that we can go camping and do something fun! Sorry for the short sporadic post but thats all I have for right now!

Content

By definition content is : In a state of peaceful happiness.  Thats how I am feeling right now and its a good feeling to have.  Its raining outside and I am nice and warm in my house. Im drinking some tea and my BoBsweep is vacuuming my house for me.

The other day I was looking at some of my old blog posts.  I like being able to go back in time a few years and see what I was doing. Did you know this time last year Zac had just bought me my jeep!? I can't believe I've had it for a year. As you might know us Fleckners go through vehicles quite quickly and the fact that we have had the truck 2 years and my jeep 1 year is kind of a big deal! So congrats to us.  At the end of May 2013 it will mark 3 years since we purchased our house!  I still remember the day we got the phone call from Courtney. I had just gotten off of work and Zac and I were standing by Nicks big glass table. That weekend we were going to be going camping at Lake Pillsbury. We still have work to do on our home but I will tell you we have done SO much in the last three years.  More then most people will do to their house….ever! I posted a picture on instagram the other day just so people could see the difference.

Makes me wonder how we ever saw through all the ugly! Luckily my husband is one of the hardest workers I know! And he is just as crazy as I am, so I believe that is how we were able to get all of this hard work done.  And what feels good is that we did it all ourselves! We painted the house, we put in the lawn, we put in the bark, the vineyard the patio…..we did it all.

Now I told you in an early blog post that we had a big BBQ for my 30th birthday.  I mentioned to Zac how it would be cool if the patio would be done before the party he told me there was NO way that was going to happen.  Well before we knew it every weekend we were out working on it and we finished it just in time!  Turning 30 wasn't the most exciting thing to me, I feel better about it now but I wasn't to pumped about it at the time.  However, it meant the world to me to have the people I care about with me to celebrate.  I feel like its a pretty big millstone in the age bracket.

I thought on this post I would share a little bit about my party and also show a before and after picture of our patio.

Can you believe that is the same space?! I mean, wow! We did good hubby, we did good!

So Zac had to work on my actually birthday so we decided that we would celebrate the day before. I was a little nervous at first because you just never know what the weather is going to be like in spring. And when I could first check is was showing some rain.  But then I remembered we have a high 24 x 40 shop…and a covered patio. So I knew we would make it work. As the day kept getting closer and closer the weather was getting more perfect! By the day of the BBQ it was like 82 degrees! I couldn't have asked for better weather.  I think we ended up having about 30 people.  I was thankful that my mom, dad and even my grandma were able to make it up to celebrate with me.  My grandma had never seen my house in person so it was nice to show her around.  My mom and Cindy were such a huge help! They did all the decorations and food for the party (it was over the top)! I asked for no gifts this year because I just wanted help on the patio and did they ever! Cindy, Steve and Nick spent a whole day helping us put in the gravel, bark and vineyard! It was the best gift! My mom and dad helped with buying all those red chairs that you see. Its the gift that keeps on giving. 

Anyways, we said on the invitation that it started at 3:00 but we were actually hoping that people wouldn't show up till later then that. And thats exactly what they did. I would say the bulk of the people were there at 4:00.  Zac was on the BBQ cooking chicken and tri-tip and I was trying to be a social butterfly and say hi to everyone.  I told Zac that it felt like our wedding….saying hi to everyone and thank you for coming and not getting to eat! Everything went very smoothly and I think the last people left around 10:30ish.  Zac and I stayed out by the fire pit a little later to just soak it all in.

This weekend is finally a chill weekend. We have been non stop for the whole month of April.  We are going to walk over to the fairgrounds today to see monster trucks with some friends and then tomorrow we are going to celebrate mothers day by having a BBQ at our house for Cindy.   I already sent my mom a gift and she texted me today and said that she got it and is going to wait till tomorrow to open it. I hope she likes it! I think for Monday we will probably just be working on our boat.  Zac was able to get the new motor mocked up in the boat the other day so now its just figuring out where it needs to sit and hooking things back up.  This time last year we had already gotten limits at fort bragg! That was such a great trip! Two hours and 6 fish. I know Zac is super excited to get back out there. Well I hope that everyone has a nice weekend! Until next time!

Kayak fishing last weekend in Paradise Cove. Although it was WAY to windy to do any real fishing. Still felt good to be outside!

Catalina

Oh Catalina, you did me good! Its funny that I grew up in southern California and not ONCE made it out to Catalina. Well I decided that it was time to go and what better time then to celebrate my big 30th birthday.  I did have a BBQ at our house on my actual birthday weekend which I will blog about soon, but for now we are going to talk about Catalina.

So VERY early Saturday morning we headed off towards southern california.  We booked our ferry to leave at 1:30 and we figured it would probably take us about 6 hours to drive down there.  We were hoping that we would have time to stop in Santa Monica for lunch but with all of that LA traffic we made it to the dock just in time! (Which means 30 minutes early) I had never been on a ferry before so I was interested to see how everything would go down.  It was very easy. You walk right into the terminal (for lack of a better word) and check in to get your ticket. They had a little cafe where you can get drinks or something to eat.  Zac and I both got sandwiches that were actually pretty good! There was already a line outside at the gate to get on the ferry but we wanted to enjoy our food so we waited until we saw the line start to move before we walked outside. They actually allow dogs on the ferry but I guess you have to have them in a muzzle.  The ferry filled up quickly but Zac and I were able to find seats together.  They are pretty comfortable but you pretty much feel like you are in an airplane.  Before we knew it it was time to head out to the island.  The captain of the ferry came on over the mic and told us that the trip would take us about 70 minutes and that the weather was pretty nice although there was some left over wind waves from the day before.  Zac asked me if I would get sick or if I needed to take dramamine……hmm…..I didn't even think about it, I just assumed it wouldn't be an issue in such big boat.  

It wasn't an issue, for me.  However once we got going the boat crew was walking all around handing out these mini trash bags for people to throw up in. Gross.  However, this is the only way to get to the island unless you take a helicopter or plane. 

Well before we knew it we arrived on the island and it was beautiful! Just what I had imagined.  When we left the dock we had a shuttle waiting to take us to our hotel.  This is not something that ALL the hotels do because most of them are within walking distance from the ferry but our hotel was more in the canyon.  We COULD have walked but it was to easy to hop on the shuttle. Once we arrived at the hotel we checked in and my mom had champagne, cheese and fruit waiting in our room! Thanks momma, so sweet of you!  Once we dropped off our bag and settled in a bit my sister and Matthew arrived to pick us up and take us on a little tour of the island with the golf cart they had rented.  My sis wasn't able to make it to my BBQ so it was so nice to be able to spend some time with her in Catalina.  

After driving around the island for probably over an hour we were ready to get some food!  Since it was such a beautiful day we decided to have dinner at the Bluewater grill which is right on the water. The "downtown" area is SO cute! My sister wanted to get one more ice-cream before she left.  Her and Matthew had been on the island since the morning and they were taking the last ferry so after dinner Zac and I walked them back to the dock and said our goodbyes.  The night wasn't over for us though we decided to do a little wine tasting! There was a small little restaurant that does flights so we were able to sit, sip and people watch!

Day Two! We slept in. Like REALLY slept in.  Since we were up so early the day before we didn't get our of bed till probably 10:00 on Sunday! But we had nothing to do but lay out by the beach.  I had rented to lounge chairs for us at Descanso Beach.  I did a little research and by the pictures….I wanted to go try it out! We took the shuttle down town and then walked to the beach.

       Iwas VERY impressed with Descanso Beach, I would go back in a heart beat! The view was amazing and the service was very good! They were very accommodating and quick to get you anything you ordered and check in on you to see if you need anything.  We spent MOST of the day there until we decided to walk back into town to explore and get some dinner.  The next morning we had to get up around 6:00 because our ferry left at 7:45 so it was off to bed fairly early.

The next morning 6:00 came way to fast! We were up, packed and out the door by 7:00.  The shuttle took us to the dock and we were ready to go.  As we walked towards the ferry there was a man sitting on a bench who asked us if we getting on the next ferry…..well….yeah….So then her starts to tell us that because of the wind the ocean is to choppy and the wind waves are to large so the ferrys have been canceled.  Uh, how are we suppose to get off the island!? So then he says that there are helicopters that can fly you to long beach but the company doesn't open till 7:30 so he is waiting to call.  Well, if thats the only way off then thats what we need to do! We figured spending the money for a helicopter would probably be cheap then having to get another hotel room for the night along with meals.  So we sat on the bench in the cold wind waiting for the helicopter place to open.  More people started to arrive to get on the ferry and then found out the same news that we had.  Before we knew it there were multiple people with the same helicopter ideas as we had. When 7:30 rolled around everyone was on their cell phone! Zac kept re-dialing and re-dailing.  That poor helicopter company was probably getting bombarded with phone calls…..oh wait….at $125.00 per person for a 15 minute ride I don't feel bad for them at all! As Zac kept calling the man next to us who had told us about the ferry got through! As I sat there listening to him set up his flight out of here I kept thinking….what if we don't get through? What if we can't get one? What if everyone else gets one and we are stuck here another day? (Not that it would be the worst thing in the world). So I leaned over to Zac and said "Im going to ask him if we can ride with him" Zac gave me the nod to do it so I did! I merged right into his phone call and said "Hey, can we come on the helicopter with you if they seat 4?" And that sweet, sweet man gave me a nod and asked the person on the phone! I felt a sense of relief! Once, he as off the phone and everything was set we thanked him and offered to take him to breakfast.  We had a few hours before our helicopter left so we might as well get some food! So thats how we had breakfast with complete strangers.

After breakfast we all walked back to the ferry to get our refund on our rickets and then chose to walk to the helicopter pad. It only took us about 20 minutes.  It was pretty windy but it didn't seem like it was windy enough that the ferry boats would have any trouble.  It was only suppose to get worse as the day went on so we were happy that we found our way back to the main land.  I wasn't to upset though because helicopters are so cool and I was excited to get to go in one!  We were back to long beach in about 15 minutes and then back to the jeep for our drive home!

If you ever have the opportunity wether by boat or helicopter I highly recommend checking out Catalina for a nice relaxing vacation! I will definitely be going back one day!